Turkey Day

I am thankful for...
...having Thankksgiving dinner with my family
...turkey
...a loving husband
...pumpkin pie (my mom's recipe is the best)

On The Road

I am thankful for...
...traveling with my husband
...listening to Louie Armstrong while I drive
...a detour to get a Peppermint Chocolate Chip Shake from Chick-fil-A to share
...an evening with my kids
...being all together as a family

Lists

I know when I'm on the edge of feeling swamped. How? I start making lists. I got 3/4 of the things on my list DONE today! Tomorrow's list consists mostly of things to do in my sewing room so that should be a fun day!

I am thankful for...
...old family recipes that are still favorites (I made my grandma's Butterhorn Rolls today for Thanksgiving Dinner)
...new flannel sheets
...sleeping 6 hours straight last night (I rarely do that)
...listening to Hubby play the piano (he's practicing some pieces to play for my mom)
...this verse:

From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another.  John 1:16

Even better in the Amplified Version:

For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor and gift [heaped] upon gift.

Worship

I am thankful for...
...worshiping
...being in the church that Hubby and I began worshiping together in around 33 years ago
...how we have grown together in Christ in the last 33 years
... BBQ for lunch
...shopping at Target
...these words:

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!
Underneath me, all around me, is the current of Thy love
Leading onward, leading homeward to Thy glorious rest above!

That Old School

I am thankful for...
...going to a football game at our old college with my hubby
...the treat of sitting in a box to watch the game (courtesy of my sister and brother-in-law) since the temp at game time was 12 degrees and at the end of the game it was 2 degrees
...having some college friends come to the game with us (we didn't know him in college, but she and Hubby marched on the marching band together)
...heated seats in the car to warm us up more quickly after the game (reminded us of freezing cold late night drives across campus as my (then) boyfriend drove me from his apartment to my dorm room -- we never warmed up then)
...mixed school attire for me (our college played the college our kids went to, so I wore a t-shirt from my school with earrings from the kids' school)
...a day to hang out with my hubby (always on my thankful list)
...a good hair day ;)

Some Stuff

I am thankful for...
...pizza from one of my favorite pizza places. It hasn't changed in 30 plus years.
...a phone call from my son
...my washing machine and dryer. We had problems with the previous washing machine for so many years, that I am still grateful for this one that we've had for three and a half years.
...the people who take care of my mom
...these words (from Travis Cottrell's song Thanks Be To Our God)


For the mysterious beyond the veil of death,
For the peace that opens with our closing breath,
When our struggles pass away, and we finally see Your face,
And a greater glory rises into view.
Thanks be to our God!

Hallelujah! Everlasting songs will rise
For all you’ve done.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Thanks be to our God!

Today

It was a really quiet day here today. I did some reading and some work on a photo album (still). I up-loaded probably 50 pictures from a family reunion last year and am working on labeling all the pictures. I'd like to remember who the people are, and for people down the road that may look at the photo album to know who the people are. My mom always told me to label my pictures from camp because I wouldn't always remember who the people were. Good advice.

I've been reading through Travis Cottrell's book Surprised by Worship for the second time. There is just something about this book that reaches into my heart. Worship is so much more than singing a song in church on Sunday morning.

I am thankful for...
...a warm house when it's cold and windy and snowing outside
...books
...the hope of salvation
...this verse:

 He has made everything beautiful in its time. 

He has also set eternity in the human heart; 

yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 

 Ecclesiastes 3:11

Water

I am thankful for...
...water. Ours was off today for several hours because the city was working on a fire hydrant on the edge of our property and this evening it is still dirty looking. Hubby is calling the city in the morning.
...my sweet hubby fixing a very yummy supper for us tonight
...a random texting conversation with an old friend of my daughter
...my bed -- heading there soon.

So Many Ideas, So Little Time

I spent over an hour in my sewing room today looking for fabric to make a little quilted bag. It was quite ridiculous the amount of time I spent in there looking through all my fabric. (I really really need to figure out a way to organize all that.) I made my choices and then came up with ideas for a total of four projects. Then there's the UFO (Unfinished Object) from last Christmas....

I am thankful for...
...having a fabric stash
...being a SAHW so I can tackle all those projects
...on-line shopping spree packages beginning to be delivered
...this verse:

You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
Isaiah 55:12

Monday Thankful List

I am thankful for...
...Facebook to connect with friends from the past
...finishing up photo book number five
...a comfort food supper with my best friend
...these words:

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

A Sunday

I am thankful for...
...leftover homemade chicken noodle soup for lunch
...oatmeal for supper
...a Sunday evening watching show after show after show of Duck Dynasty
...this verse:
From the fulness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another. John 1:16

A Day In The Big City

I am thankful for...
...being able to spend the day with my sweet hubby
...being left at Panera while Hubby takes the car to get the oil changed
...giant salads for lunch
...being left at the Mall of America while Hubby shops at Deli France (meaning somewhere secret)
...BBQ for supper
...not having to hide Christmas presents from the kids (since they're not here)

Piano, Pizza and Pictures

I am thankful for...
...Hubby's talent in playing the piano...such a treat to listen to
...pizza night
...Shutterfly. I'm working on photo book number five out of eight.
...on-line promotional codes to make those photo books even cheaper

Promise

I've been having a hard week. Despite that--

I am thankful for...
...this verse's promise

 For I am the Lord you God who takes hold of your 

right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.

                                                             Isaiah 41:13  

...a dinner date with my husband

Thanking...

I am thankful for...
...books
...a day spent reading my Kindle (totally counts as a book)
...homemade peanut butter
...these words:

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

Leftovers

All the cooking I did the last couple of weeks is paying off this week. Opening the freezer door and choosing a meal is all it takes to fix supper. Well, that, and the microwave or stove top or oven. Tonight's dinner was Corn Chowder with ham, some English Muffin Bread toast and a couple of those yummy little oranges that are for sale at the grocery store this time of year.

I am thankful for...
...leftovers
...these words:

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

...a husband who comes home every evening for supper
...a warm house ;)

Monday, Monday

I am thankful for...
...being able to see deer wander by in the field next to our house
...the deer family I saw this morning -- mama, baby, and a buck!
...listening to my sweet husband play through hymns to find some to play for my mom
...a warm house

Pie

My sister and brother-in-law took my mom to the chapel service in the home where Mom is staying. I slept in a little and we met Mom in her room when they got back from the service. Dad came shortly after that when he had finished up with some things that their church he needed to do. When Dad took mom to eat her lunch, the rest of us went to a little cafe in another part of the home.

I will just go and say right now that even though the sandwich was very good, the pie was the best part of lunch. Of course. I knew it would be. How? My son-in-law's mother made it. She owns and cooks and bakes at a little tearoom restaurant about 45 minutes away and once a week brings pies to the home where Mom is staying. Such a fun connection.

As always, it was hard to say good-bye to Mom.

I am thankful for...
...Lemon Meringue Pie
...lunch conversations with family
...another frozen yogurt stop on the way home
...a quiet Sunday night at home
...God's never-ending, constant, powerful, life-changing love
...my mom
...my dad

A Saturday With Mom

Hubby and I spent today with my mom. My dad wanted to go to a football game with my sisters, but was very hesitant to leave Mom all alone all day. He has been with her every single day (10-12 hours a day) since she had the stroke on September 6th. Hubby and I volunteered to spend the day with her. It went pretty well, but it was a hard day, too. I could tell Mom missed Dad and I am not very good at reading Mom and what she is trying to communicate. (Dad is amazing at that.) We helped Mom with lunch. I gathered the food for her and she fed herself. She has greatly improved with being able to feed herself. So much so, that earlier this week she had her feeding tube taken out!

We brought a few things with us to occupy Mom. We had a stack of catalogs with us (all the catalogs in the mail are a good indication that Christmas is coming soon). I gave Mom a couple and she paged through them and looked at all the pages. It's good to see she knows what to do with something like that and seemed to be interested in the stuff on the pages. 

I had made my Dad some Swedish Rye Bread (Mom's recipe) and brought a piece for Mom to snack on. I took the baggie it was in out of my purse and she made a noise that indicated she knew what it was and ate half a piece and said something like yum. That was so fun to watch. 

I also brought my laptop and some of our old home movies that we had transferred to DVD several years ago. She and I watched that together. I heard her chuckled a few times at the silliness of my kids and their cousins.

I am thankful for...

...my mom's chuckles

...Mom's version of "Hi" when she first sees me

...my dad being able to get away for the day even if it was hard for him to be away from my mom

...old home movies

...a late night talk with my sister

What I Believe

Whenever there was a Billy Graham special on TV when I was growing up, my mom watched it. When my mom was in college at Iowa State University, she went to a Billy Graham crusade in Des Moines. There she gave her life to Christ. I am so very grateful for that. If she hadn't, would she have married my dad? If she had married my dad but not been a Christian, what kind of a childhood would I have had? I suspect it would be so very different from what how I did grow up.

Yesterday was Billy Graham's 95th birthday. There is a message from him floating around Facebook via YouTube. I embedded it here. Listen to it.



A quote from the video:

The almost overwhelming thing is to think that Jesus became sin and it was my sin and it was things that I've done that held Him on the cross. He hung naked on the cross, bleeding in a shameful way so that I would never have to be ashamed for the things that I have done. The truth is, there is no other way besides Christ and what He did. There is no life outside of that. There is no other way of salvation except through the cross of Christ.

I am thankful for...

...Jesus Christ taking on sin for me

...salvation

...the hope of Eternal Life with God

...the Christian parents that raised me 

...growing up learning about the Bible, about Jesus, about God's love for me

Bread Baking

I woke up this morning thinking that I would make just a few more things to put in our freezer and take to my dad. And I did, but it turned into a day-long job. Good thing my freezer is full so I have to stop cooking and baking.

I thought I would include a picture of my food slicer I break out when I have a lot of bread to slice. I bought this probably twenty years ago. The width can be adjusted. It all comes apart pretty easily for cleaning. I've used it for bread, meat and cheese. This is a loaf of English Muffin Bread. I found the recipe on Pinterest. Here's the link if you want to know.

 

 I am thankful for...

...the smell of my mom's Swedish Rye Bread baking

...the recipe card with the Swedish Rye Bread recipe written in my mom's handwriting

...a fun chat session on Facebook this evening with an old college friend. Our chat ranged from bad cooking to weather to geography to the mental struggle of realizing our parents are aging and we are all grown up now.

...a husband who washes the dishes after supper

Homemade

I am thankful for...
...homemade chicken noodle soup
...homemade biscuits
...homemade chocolate chip oatmeal cookies with pecans
...a very loving and accepting husband

I Don't Want to Talk About It

I'm not going to talk about the snow that fell out of the sky today and accumulated a little. I'm not going to talk about how much I don't like winter in Minnesota.

I am thankful for...
...a nice warm house
...prayer time with my sweet husband
...beef and broccoli stir fry I made for supper tonight
...clean sheets for our bed
...warm jammies
...iced tea to drink all year round
...the steel cut oats I made in the slow cooker yesterday and warmed up for breakfast this morning

The Haul

Here's a collage of the fabrics I bought last week when I got lost in the ginormous fabric warehouse.

Most of these are intended to use as baby gifts someday. The piles with polka dots and letters and the pink pastels are all flannel.

I decided to collect some yellows and grays for a someday quilt for me. I am totally into those colors. I see a guest room with yellows and grays in my future.

I am thankful for...
...fabric
...Hubby encouraging me to add to my fabric collection :)
...my mom teaching me to sew when I was 9 years old. I am so thankful for those skills.
...homemade spicy tomato soup and grilled cheese for supper

Sunday

Today we spent the day with my mom. We hadn't been to see her since she moved to a skilled care home. She seems to have a nice room with a decent view. She does physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy five days a week. She has made a lot of progress, but will never ever be the same. I think what breaks my heart the most is Mom's inability to talk. I know she wants to tell me things, but can't. Hubby and I took her to a chapel service in the home this morning. I heard Mom hum along a little bit to the old Swedish hymn Children of the Heavenly Father. (My mom is 100% Swedish.) I cried.

I am thankful for...
...the people who take care of my mom
...my dad's devotion to my mom (I cannot express this enough)
...hugs and kisses and smiles from my mom
...chatting on-line with my son this evening
...a frozen yogurt stop on the way home
...continuing to read Tom Sawyer to Hubby in the car (I have never read this book)

A Family Day

I am thankful for...
...a day with my in-laws in their new apartment
...being able to spend a little time with my sister-in-law
...a nice quiet dinner with my hubby finished off with some glorious aimless roaming around at Target

I Think I Will

The last two Novembers I have posted each day of the month something I was thankful for. Even though I posted something every single day in October I think I will go ahead with my thankful posts this month. It really helps my mindset, you know?

This weekend we are visiting our parents. We stopped at my parents' house (on the way to see the in-laws) to drop off some freezer meals I made for my dad. We had a good quick visit with Dad. And from that comes a few things I am thankful for:

I am thankful for:
...my husband being willing to do the majority (by far) of the driving when we are on road trips
...junk food pit-stops
...being able to witness what the vows: to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part  in action through my dad's devotion to my mom. It's a beautiful thing.